PRO Compression, Creator of Compression Socks for Runners, Discusses How Much We Slow Down when Running Longer Distances

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Following an article looking at whether run speeds were proportional to time and how running long distance saw a greater decrease in speed than was expected, PRO Compression releases a statement.

Bohemia, NY (PRWEB)April 08, 2013

On April 8, 2013, PRO Compression releases a statement following a New York Times article by Andrew Gelman examining the common-sense hypothesis that if running speeds were proportional to time, doubling the distance would result in a doubling of time.

According to the New York Times article, while doubling the distance of a run should logically translate into a corresponding doubling of the time taken to run it, for longer runs, it actually takes about 2.15 times the amount of time, which highlights one of the inherent difficulties of long-distance running. When plotting world running times against distance in races from the 100-meter dash all the way through to marathons and ultramarathons, each time the distance was doubled, the world record time is multiplied by about 2.15.

The article goes on to mention that, “For sprints of 200 meters to 1,000 meters, a doubling of distance corresponds to an increase of a factor of 2.3 in world record running times; for longer distances from 1,000 meters to the marathon, a doubling of distance increases the time by a factor of 2.1. They found similar patterns for men and women, and for swimming as well as running.”

PRO Compression, creator of compression socks for runners, knows how stressful long-distance running can be for athletes. CEO Eric Smith commented on the article, saying, “Long-distance running can be extremely stressful on athletes. It’s no surprise that runners slow down a little when pushed to their max, and when their performance must be sustained over a longer period of time. The comfort level while running can play a pretty big part in determining how far an athlete can push themselves, and compression socks are a good way to stay comfortable when running marathons. They're especially useful for distance runners who want to reduce their recovery time.”